The more I study history, the more I become convinced that some human beings simply do not know how to sit down somewhere and behave.

Take the Hundred Years’ War between England and France, for example. It lasted from 1337 to 1453—about 116 years. The name “Hundred Years’ War” is actually being generous.

The conflict began when King Edward III of England claimed he had a right to the French throne through his mother’s family line. The French nobility disagreed and chose their own king. Instead of settling the matter with a strongly worded letter, they embarked on a century of warfare.

Imagine having a family dispute and deciding the best solution is to fight for more than a hundred years.

The English won several major victories early in the war, including the Battle of Crécy and the Battle of Poitiers. Their secret weapon was the longbow, which proved devastating against heavily armored French knights who were discovering the hard way that expensive armor does not make you invincible.

Then came the Black Death.

Because apparently war wasn’t enough.

While England and France were busy fighting each other, the plague swept through Europe, killing somewhere between one-third and one-half of the population. Entire villages disappeared. Labor shortages transformed economies. Death was everywhere.

At that point, most reasonable people would have said, “Perhaps we should pause this war and focus on not dying.”

Humanity responded with a collective, “Nah.”

The fighting continued.

Decades later, England scored another famous victory at the Battle of Agincourt under Henry V. Once again, English archers devastated a much larger French force.

For a time, it looked as though England might actually win.

Then history introduced one of its most remarkable characters: Joan of Arc.

A teenage peasant girl claimed she received divine visions instructing her to help France. Whether one views her as a saint, a visionary, or simply an extraordinary leader, there is no denying her impact. She inspired French troops, helped break the siege of Orléans, and revived French morale when defeat seemed inevitable.

Unfortunately, the English captured her. She was tried for heresy and burned at the stake in 1431 at just nineteen years old.

France, however, continued the fight she had helped reignite.

Eventually, French forces became stronger, more organized, and more effective. By the time of the Battle of Castillon, France had largely driven England from its territories on the continent.

The war was finally over.

Or rather, the people finally got tired.

Think about that for a moment.

A child born when the war began could have lived an entire life and died before it ended. Generations grew up knowing nothing but conflict, taxes, raids, shortages, and uncertainty. Grandparents, parents, and grandchildren all found themselves trapped in the same struggle.

By the end, many of the people who started the war had been dead for decades. The original claims, grievances, and ambitions had become distant memories for ordinary people.

Somewhere in medieval France there was probably a farmer asking, “Can somebody remind me why we’re still doing this?”

And somewhere in medieval England another farmer was probably asking the exact same question.

History teaches us that conflicts often outlive the people who begin them. One generation inherits the fight, then passes it to the next generation, and then the next. Eventually the struggle becomes less about the original cause and more about the habit of continuing.

Humans are capable of building cathedrals, composing beautiful music, writing great literature, and creating works of art that endure for centuries.

We are also apparently capable of turning a family inheritance dispute into a 116-year international headache.

If persistence were an Olympic event, humanity would win gold every time.

The story of the Hundred Years’ War reminds us that while human beings possess an extraordinary capacity for resilience, we also possess an equally extraordinary talent for refusing to let an argument die.

Some people just love to fight. History is full of the receipts. 😏